


Just Breathe

by UnrulyNerd



Series: Dance With Us 2020 [1]
Category: The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: Dance With Us 2020, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:55:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27879457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnrulyNerd/pseuds/UnrulyNerd
Summary: Character appreciation for Emma Nolan.Dance with Us 2020 - Day 1
Relationships: Alyssa Greene/Emma Nolan, Emma Nolan & Emma Nolan's Grandmother (The Prom Musical)
Series: Dance With Us 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2041305
Kudos: 18
Collections: Dance With Us Week 2020





	Just Breathe

**Author's Note:**

> Emma Nolan is my absolute favourite character; I see a lot of myself in her, so obviously I had to write about her.

Emma Nolan never really had a happy moment with her parents. Growing up, she knew that her parents thought something was wrong with her. She saw the looks that they shared when she would refuse to put on dress, and then when she asked for her hair to be cut shorter. She heard them talk when she preferred to play pirates rather than pretend to be a princess. She hated the times that she spent with them.  


But Saturdays were the best. Every week she'd go to her Gran's house, where she'd finally feel free to just be herself without being judged. Betsy Nolan didn't care that Emma didn't conform to the social norms. She was the person who bought Emma's first guitar, and the person who would convince her to be brave and perform at school, most recently the Thanksgiving assembly (which if you asked Emma, went terribly).  


Betsy was the first person Emma came out to. Emma had come into the house one Saturday and started rambling on about a girl who had blown up peanut brittle in chemistry the previous day.  


"It was awesome, Gran. Alyssa didn't even know how she did it. She's amazing." Emma was grinning like mad, talking constantly about Alyssa Greene.  


She did it later, when they were eating their dinner.  


"Gran, I have something that I've wanted to tell you for a while now," Emma started, staring at her plate and refusing to look up. "I think I'm-"  


She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence. The words were getting caught in her throat and she could feel tears coming to her eye.  


Betsy wasted now time in rushing round the table and pulling Emma into a hug. "Just breathe, okay? It's going to be fine. What you're going to say, I'm fine with."  


"I'm gay." Emma started crying into her shoulder, and Betsy started rubbing circles into her back.  


"It's alright," She moved away slightly to look Emma in the eye. "Emma, it's okay. I think I already knew."  


"Really?"  


"There's been a few hints. For example, literally just earlier you were talking about a girl in your class for about an hour."  


"It wasn't an hour." Emma was turning red now.  


"It almost was. And your obsession with wearing flannels. It's not entirely subtle."  


"Are you really okay with this?"  


"Emma, if you thought for a second that I would hate you for just being you, I think I've failed as a grandmother." Betsy wiped away Emma's tears and grabbed her hands. "Now, we should get back to eating our dinner before we run out of time."  


She got up and moved back to her seat.  


"So, you have a crush on Alyssa Greene."  


"Shut up," Emma started turning red again.  


"No, I can finally make fun of your crushes," She joked, "She's a nice girl, cute as well."  


"She's the only one who won't go around and spread rumours about me. Who won't hate me just because some people say I'm gay."  


"You really like this girl, don't you?"  


"Yeah. But the chances of her not being straight and then liking me back are very, very small."  


"You never know."  


They sit in silence for a few minutes, before Emma gets the courage to speak again.  


"Thanks for being okay with all this."  


"No problem."  


Despite her Gran's reaction to Emma coming out being as positive as it was, not everyone had the same reaction.  


Her parents, after an evening of arguing over sending her to a conversion camp or just giving up on her, kicked her out. Emma had grabbed as much of her stuff as she could fit into her suitcase and backpack, before picking up her guitar and leaving the house without looking back. She was furious that her parents didn't even care enough to try and accept her, but she was happier at her gran's.  


But the reaction of the people at school was worse. She couldn't manage to get through a full day without hearing the things that they called her. It was like confirming the rumours was the worst thing that she could've done. She had started carrying as much of her stuff around as she could to minimise her trips to her locker to avoid seeing the stuff written on it.  


Even the teachers hated her now. They were much harsher on Emma, and her math teacher even gave her a detention one day because of 'talking in her class' (she never even said anything; one of the boys on the football team had been calling her slurs and she was ignoring him so of course she got the blame for the disruption).  


At least the principle was on her side. Mr. Hawkins was really the only thing stopping everything from exploding into madness. He was the only teacher willing to try and put a stop to the bullying and the only one who'd thought to check that she was doing alright. But there was very little he could actually do, so everything was still shit.  


Alyssa Greene, however, had started talking to Emma even more, and was actually beginning to have lunch with her a couple of days a week. She'd lie to her friends, claiming that she was studying in the library, and they'd spend their lunch joking around, helping each other study and eating the junk food that Emma provided.

Their lunches together became both of their favourite parts of the day, dreading the moment when the bell would go and they'd have to go back to class, pretending that they weren't as close as they were.  


Emma liked to focus on those lunches. Ignore the shit that everyone else says and think about lunch with Alyssa. Think about evenings watching TV with gran. Think about a future where she wasn't bullied for being who she was.  


Emma was alright at how her life was. It was, honestly, crap, but she'd just breathe through all the shit for now.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed this little study into Emma's life pre-show. Please give me any feedback you have.


End file.
